The Rich
Flavors of
South African
Cuisine
Your New Favorite Food
(That You Haven’t Tried Yet)
BY NOAH NOFZ

C

lose your eyes for a moment
and picture South African
cuisine. What do you see?
For most, the exercise is more
difficult than it seems. People
think of many things when they
think of South Africa—Mandela,
rugby, diamonds, penguins—but
the food remains shrouded in
mystery, victim to more recognizable world cuisines.
Peli Peli, a blossoming group
of Houston eateries serving the
only South African fare available

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in Texas, is out to change that.
First opened in 2009, Peli Peli
has since conquered the Houston restaurant scene. It was no
small feat—Houston, after all, is
a new dining capital in America,
a swaggering city that prides itself
on its culinary chops. To Peli Peli
co-founder and Chief Marketing
Officer Thomas Nguyen, that
made it the perfect place to bring
his concept to life. “I don’t know
if there’s a better place for us to
have opened than Houston,” he
says.
Why Houston? In a word, diversity. “In this city, we’re used to diversity,” Nguyen points out. “You
have Vietnamese-Cajun crawfish,
you have Indian-Chinese food…
It’s such a mix—not just for the
sake of mixing, but because that’s
what the city is made up of.”
According to Nguyen, Houston’s fusion of flavors perfectly
mirrors South African cuisine.
“South Africa has so many differ-

ent cultures that influence the
cuisine, from Indian to British to
Dutch, Portuguese, and surrounding African countries,” he
explains. “Since it’s made up of
so many different cultures and
people, there are many flavors
that people haven’t had before.”
Ultimately, Peli Peli found
its way into the hearts of Space
City diners through (what else?)
their stomachs. The name of the
restaurant is a romanization of
the Swahili piri piri, and refers
to a small, but potent, chili
pepper that grows wild on the
South African plains. The nod to
spice suffuses the entire Peli Peli
menu, which is overseen by South
African-born Executive Chef Paul
Friedman.
“This was Paul’s opportunity
to finally be the chef he’s always
wanted to be,” enthuses Nguyen,
and one look at the menu reveals
the unmistakable work of an artist in the throes of delight.

Consider his award-winning
Bobotie, a distinctive take on
the South African national dish.
Curried ground beef and carrot
bredie are encased in a flaky
pastry crust and finished with a
jolt of mango chutney. A dizzying array of perfectly-prepared
seafood forms the Cape Town
Skillet, which makes its home on
a bed of South African rice and
is topped by a pair of exquisite
tiger prawns. Even Friedman’s
Charcuterie Board is an exercise
in culinary glee, from the spicysweet tang of stuffed peppadews
to house-made biltong, a kind
of soft, South African beef jerky
that rockets South African guests
(and, one suspects, the chef)
back to their childhoods. It’s
not hard to see that this food is
prepared from the heart.
High local demand reflects
that love for the cuisine. With
three fine dining locations now
open in Houston, plans to open